1 I was so excited. My mother was taking me on a surprise outing! I loved it when she did that. One time, we went miniature golfing. Another time, she took me to the mall. She tries to do this once a month. With this month being December, I figured the outing would have something to do with the holidays.2 When it was time to go, I put on my pink winter coat. I love that coat. I don't get to wear it much because we live in the South, and it never gets very cold. However, today was a little bit on the chilly side, so I pulled it out of the closet. I love the fuzzy white fringe on the hood.3 Mom and I headed out to the car. She checked to see that I was buckled in tightly, and then put on her own seat belt. We drove out the driveway and stayed on familiar roads. This was the same route we took to go to church. I wondered if that was where we were going.4 Sure enough, we turned into the church parking lot. "Church on Saturday morning?" I thought. Our services were usually on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.5 "C'mon, sweetie," Mom said, interrupting my thoughts. "Let's get inside."6 I followed Mom into the Fellowship Hall. There were several tables, each with a gingerbread house in the middle. I saw some of my friends – there was Angela, Joseph, and Mary.7 "Hi!" I said.8 "Hi back!" they exclaimed, using our standard greeting.